Officers-in-Charge from each Army medical recruiting battalion where the first to attend the new 40-hour OIC course at the Army Recruiting and Retention School.

Course Developed for AMEDD Officers-in-Charge

By Sgt. 1st Class Steven Vickery, USAREC, Medical Recruiting BrigadeCourtesy photoApril 15, 2015Unlike a traditional recruiting center, where an NCO is the center and primary leader, Medical Recruiting Centers have an officer and NCO sharing leadership responsibilities. Previously, an OIC’s primary trainer was the NCO center leader. Since last summer, the Critical Task Site Selection Board (CTSSB) now trains OICs. Classes taught range from mission command to developing an NCO Evaluation Report. Information was provided by MRB Commander Col. Timothy Hudson and MRB Command Sgt. Maj. Vincent Lewis to ensure course content was specific on how OICs would execute lessons learned in their operational environments. “The training is only a week long, so we had to carefully condense the subject matter of the courses,” said Master Sgt. Do. Nguyen, MRB Senior Master Trainer. “This will be fast paced training with early mornings and late evenings. The course was designed based on the OIC critical skills established by the CTSSB and will provide a solid platform for them to execute their duties.” As an MRB Master Trainer, I developed the 40-hour OIC Course, which includes 13 lesson plans, with the help Cornelius Mack, Healthcare Program Manager for the Recruiting and Retention School and Nguyen. After several months as the OIC of the San Francisco Medical Center, Capt. Josh Peacock attended the inaugural course. “I’m learning a lot about the information technology systems I didn’t know,” he said. “For instance [using one system], I can pull up a list of all my prospects. That wasn’t something they covered in the three-week course I attended after being selected for this job. “We also did a personality assessment, and I found that I overanalyze” said Peacock. “I lost sleep obsessing over what can go wrong. Knowing that I have a tendency to over think will help me with being a better leader.” He plans to focus the center’s battle rhythm to maintain control and predictability. “These OICs are an invaluable asset because of their experience and skills,” Hudson said. “The OIC is a subject matter expert.” Institutional instruction serves as a solid base from which OICs can gain a better understanding of their recruiting environment, allowing them to provide sound guidance to recruiters through mission command.